From the trail: Romney repels criticism

CHRONICLE NEWS SERVICES

January 12, 2012

Photo: Getty Images

EAST HAMPTON, NEW YORK - AUGUST 3: Former Senator and Governer of Nebraska Bob Kerrey atends The People For The American Way Foundation 6th Annual Fundraiser August 3, 2002 in East Hampton, New York. (Photo by Matthew Peyton/Getty Images)

EAST HAMPTON, NEW YORK - AUGUST 3: Former Senator and Governer of...

SOUTH CAROLINA

Romney repels criticism

Signaling concern within Mitt Romney's campaign that the attacks on his private-sector experience are beginning to take their toll, the Republican front-runner stepped up his defense Thursday of his career at a private equity firm, as prominent GOP leaders chided his rivals for ganging up on him.

Battling an effort by his opponents and an independent group backing former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to portray him as a former "corporate raider" who relentlessly pursued profits even if that meant layoffs at the companies his firm controlled, Romney attempted to shift attention to the success stories of Bain Capital.

The scorching tone is beginning to unnerve some prominent Republicans, including those who have avoided taking sides in the primary, such as South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

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In two appearances in South Carolina, Gingrich did not bring up his criticisms of Romney's role at Bain. But Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who had likened companies like Bain to vultures, defended the approach, arguing Republicans were better off airing concerns now than letting Democrats exploit it this fall.

NEBRASKA

Former senator weighs making a comeback

More than a decade after he left Nebraska for New York, former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey is considering an improbable comeback run for his old Senate seat.

It's a prospect even he rates as a longshot.

Kerrey said he'd bet against himself, but he's giving the race consideration during a visit to Nebraska this week. The former senator would provide an instant jolt to the race to replace Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson, who is retiring at the end of his term.

How the Nebraska Senate race unfolds is pivotal for both parties: Republicans need to net four seats in the 2012 election to take back the Senate. If Kerrey doesn't make the race, Republicans are extremely confident they'll have one of the four seats they need.

CALIFORNIA

Longtime GOP congressman plans to retire

Rep. Jerry Lewis, the dean of California's GOP congressional delegation and a fixture in Golden State politics since Ronald Reagan's governorship, on Thursday announced he would retire when his term expires.

Lewis becomes the sixth member of the state's 53-member House delegation who will be retiring or running for another office.

His decision will set off a game of political musical chairs.

The 77-year-old Lewis has been contemplating retirement since his district was carved up by a redistricting plan, drawn up for the first time by a citizens commission instead of lawmakers.

MISSOURI

Gubernatorial hopeful changes online biography

Missouri gubernatorial candidate Dave Spence changed his online biography Thursday to fix a claim about a college economics degree and acknowledged that his campaign also had distributed fliers wrongly asserting that he attended business school at the University of Missouri.

The biographical adjustments come as Spence - a St. Louis businessman making his first political campaign - has been traveling the state trying to ramp up his challenge to Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon in 2012 elections. Spence's campaign has emphasized his business acumen.

Spence, 53, has a degree in home economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia. But the biography on his campaign website originally omitted the word "home" while describing his economics degree - a fact first reported earlier this week by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Spence acknowledged that the description may have been misleading.